Dealing with cancer and emotions: Isolation

When the rest of the world is leading a normal life you can feel incredibly isolated. Dealing with loneliness when you or someone you love is going through cancer can make the situation even more unbearable. Try to stay in contact with your usual friends and family as you need them now more than ever.

How to deal with it

"Try to make the effort to ring one of your friends and tell them that you are lonely and need to see someone – you might be surprised by how much support they can offer you," says Macmillan.

Taking steps to avoid being isolated is really important. It’s easy to feel like no one else understands or that you are better off dealing with your feelings on your own, but isolation can lead to depression and can exacerbate feelings of anxiety or frustration.

A helpful tip
Reach out to a local caregivers group or cancer support group to meet like minded people, or simply give yourself one social task a day, such as an outing or a phone call to take your mind off things and remind you that the world is still out there.